Product Description

The Roman Empire produced countless achievements in the arts, literature, philosophy, law and government, without which much of our civilization today would not exist. Yet at it's heart was also unbelievable cruelty, epitomized by the bloody history of the gladiators: human beings set in an arena to fight to the death, watched by crowds of thousands. "Gladiators" is an introduction to understanding this disturbing and brutal phenomenon. The bloodthirsty spectacle of gladiatorial combat has inspired countless films and fictions, yet here Michael Grant shows that the truth is no less strange and savage. He tells us who the gladiators were, how they fought and died, how they were idolized by their public and feared by emperors, and how the most barbaric blood sport ever invented finally came to an end.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #658004 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

Out of date
This was first published in 1967 revised and updated in 1971. It shows its age, since research has moved on since then. For a better and more modern overview I would recommend the
British Museum publication "Gladiators and Caesars" For me the book is also spoiled because the author projects his modern sense of values onto ancient Roman society.

Brief and informative
My only complaint about this book is that it is too short! At only 199 pages it is a very brief (though apparently comprehensive)summary of all that is known of the origins, lives,(deaths of course), institutions and eventual abolition of gladiators. I would have appreciated some references for further reading and perhaps more background on such issues as why living conditions in Imperial Rome were so intolerable that large numbers of free men (and some women) as well as slaves volunteered to fight in the arena. Nevertheless, this is an extremely informative little book which is a good overview of the subject.